Year of the Dolphin

The UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), its specialized agreements on whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans), the Agree­ment on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS) and the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Ceta­ceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS) together with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) de­clared 2007 the Year of the Dolphin.

The United Nations (UNEP and UNESCO), governments, non­governmental organizations (NGOs) and the tourist group TUI as a corporate partner, built a strong alliance to achieve a common objective: to protect dolphins. Crucial factors in achieving this were education to create awareness of dolphin species and the threats facing them, informing decision makers and involving local communities. The Year of the Dol­phin was part of the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Deve­lopment. The campaign was also a tangible contribution towards meeting the targets of signifi­cantly reducing the loss of biodiversity by 2010, which all governments have agreed at several global UN meetings.